Battle-tested Jesuit cruises to region final series win
Senior Brody Smith is greeted at the plate by Kaden Waechter (#10) and Christian Sheffield (#31) after his third-inning, two-run bomb helping the Tigers claim a region title in a 9-0 win against Naples Barron Collier.
By Chuck Frye, Senior Staff Writer
TAMPA – Because of the self-imposed hardships faced in the middle of the season, Jesuit will be heading to Fort Myers playing at the top of its game.
“We wanted to challenge our guys,” Tigers head coach Miguel Menendez said about scheduling IMG Academy (twice) and Stoneman Douglas – the top two ranked teams in the state according to MaxPreps – along with No. 3 Jacksonville Trinity Christian, No. 4 Venice, St. Thomas Aquinas of Fort Lauderdale and a pair of Georgia powerhouses.
“I think that 11 teams that we have played, including (fellow 4A Region 3 finalist) Barron Collier, are still playing,” said Menendez after a slate rated as the toughest by the FHSAA.
Tigers second baseman Wilson Anderson throws for the first out of the game.
Jesuit finished the one-month gauntlet with a 6-7 record including “games that we felt like we should have won if we played better,” according to Menendez. But the ultimate goal of another deep playoff run has been fueled by that adversity, achieving dominance as evidenced by a two-game blitz of the Cougars culminating in a 9-0 whitewashing on Tuesday.
An oppressive three-headed monster has reared its heads to crush all in its path.
Jesuit junior Kaden Waechter dazzled on the mound, striking out 10 over six shutout innings to help the Tigers earn their fourth trip to Fort Myers and the state final four.
The top of the rotation for the 24-9 Tigers, juniors Wilson Andersen and Kaden Waechter, are at the top of their games. Against Barron Collier (24-8), Andersen struck out 16 in Game 1 (“My career high, and I was two off the school record, he said”); while Waechter fanned another 10 in six innings of work in Game 2.
“I know there’s some really good 1-2 punches in the state of Florida, but I can’t imagine there’s anybody better than these two guys,” Menendez said. “They’re so good and so efficient that I can’t get to other pitchers that are really talented.”
First Brody Smith …
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… and then courtesy runner Colin Kenny cross the plate on DH Robby Santana’s first-inning, two-run single.
And when the pitching staff shows signs of mortality, the Tigers’ defense pitches in and shuts the door.
Consider Tuesday’s top-third, for example. Jesuit led 5-0 but the Cougars got singles from Dylan Wiggins and Grady Gallen wrapped around Jon Hernandez-Carr’s hit batter to load the bases with nobody out.
In one of two huge third-inning plays, Jesuit third baseman Bryce Besece hollers at Vincent DeCarlo after the catcher back-picked a Cougars runner.
Waechter struck out the next batter before the D stuck in a pair of daggers. After a Barron Collier batter failed to lay down a safety squeeze bunt, Jesuit catcher Vincent DeCarlo rifled a throw to third baseman Bryce Besece to easily pick off the runner. Redemption for the Cougars loomed with a sinking line drive, but leftfielder Christian Sheffield charged, dove, and caught the ball to end the inning.
“We had the back-pick and Christian’s diving play then all of a sudden (Barron Collier) got nothing,” Menendez said. “That took some steam out of (the Cougars).”
Leftfielder Christian Sheffield’s diving grab to end an inning where Barron Collier got its first three batters on base but failed to score.
As a result, Jesuit has won 10 of its last 11 games with all victories coming by shutout. Tigers’ pitchers have a current scoreless streak of 36 innings and counting.
Finally, the offense has rebounded after hitting in the .230s as a team over its first 10 games. The return of Waechter to the lineup at shortstop on his non-pitching nights has made quite a difference.
“Having Kaden in the lineup gets the rest of the guys into their natural roles,” Menendez said. “Kaden’s really just starting to hit his stride. He’s starting to drive the ball, you can see he’s more comfortable, his balance is so much better … it couldn’t come at a better time.”
Barron Collier second baseman Casey Johnson pulls in a first-inning popup.
In Game 2, Waechter contributed a fifth-inning RBI double, a second-inning leadoff single, a hit-by-pitch, and a walk, scoring twice while jacking his batting average over the .400 mark.
But No. 1 in the rotation also became No. 1 at the plate. Playing second base on Tuesday, Andersen closed out a stellar regional final series by going 4-for-4 with a double and triple and one run scored. Over a span of 27 hours, Andersen went 7-for-7 while going for the cycle over the pair of games.
“The baseball’s looking pretty big,” Andersen said with a laugh. “I’ve been working hard and it’s fun when you’re in a groove like that. We’re just going out there and playing our game.”
With Cougars batter-runner John Minerva bearing down, Jesuit pitcher Kaden Waechter takes a flip from Samir Mohammed for the final out of the second inning.
After Waechter’s 1-2-3 top-first, top-seeded Jesuit got its first six batters on base, eventually sending 10 to the dish and scoring four times to put the visitors back on their heels. DH Robby Santana roped a two-run single, while base hits from Besece and Sheffield also plated runs.
“We did exactly what we wanted to do,” Menendez said. “Kaden shut them down and then we score four. It took all the wind out of their sails and we kind of cruised from there.”
Jesuit’s Colin Kenny slides around shortstop Brady Graham’s tag for the game’s only stolen base.
The offense kept coming from leadoff man Brody Smith (two-run homer in the third, two walks, three runs scored) and Sheffield (a pair of walks). In all, eight of Jesuit’s nine starters reached base on Tuesday, and during the 10-wins-in-11 streak, the offense registered three double-digit efforts and three others with nine runs scored.
“I’m actually proud we scored in every inning (except the sixth),” Menendez said. “We didn’t have that other big inning, we didn’t score our 10th run (to invoke the mercy rule and end the game), but we kept tacking on runs and that took (the Cougars) out of it.”
Tigers rightfielder Brody Smith closes hard on this fourth-inning line drive.
Now, after a compressed schedule to squeeze in three best-of-three regional rounds, the Tigers – ranked ninth overall in the state, tops in 4A and in search of the program’s first back-to-back state titles – will enjoy 13 days off until final four play commences.
“We’ll play a lot of intersquad games, try to see some live at-bats, give all our pitchers some innings, and get as locked in as possible,” Menendez concluded. “Actually, we wish we could start the semifinals now.”
“We’re just going to keep practicing, keep playing hard, keep working out, and just keep being us,” Andersen said
Cougars third baseman Dylan Wiggins appears to have Wilson Andersen dead to rights but he doesn’t have the ball. Andersen’s triple added to a fine 7-for-7 plate effort in the region finals.
“I’m just really grateful. It’s super-fun to play here, I love my coaches, my teammates, and (Hyer Family Field). It’s a blessing to play here.”
⚾ Class 4A-Region 3 ⚾
Jesuit 9
Naples Barron Collier 0
B 000|000|0 – |0|2|1
J 412|110|x – |9|10|2
W – Waechter (4-1); L – Overmyer (6-4)
2B – Waechter, Andersen (J); 3B – Andersen (J); HR – Smith (J). Records – B (24-9); J (25-9).
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Barron Collier rightfielder Grady Gallen leaps to haul in Vincent DeCarlo’s second-inning line drive.
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Cougars rightfielder Grady Gallen watches helplessly as Brody Smith’s third-inning drive clears the right-centerfield fence.
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As Cougars pitcher Tucker Engel watches the throw sail by, Wilson Andersen scores on a wild pitch while teammate Samir Mohammed looks on.
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Kaden Waechter celebrates his fifth-inning RBI double.
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Wilson Andersen is all smiles after his sixth-inning double that wrapped up a 4-for-4 Game 2 effort.
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Brody Smith’s backflip between Christian Sheffield (left) and Cannon Murtagh highlights the Jesuit outfield’s region final victory celebration.
